


Brightest Star in the Sky

by ireadhpinenochian



Category: Supernatural
Genre: Alternate Universe - High School, First Kiss, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-03-14
Updated: 2015-03-14
Packaged: 2018-03-17 18:44:09
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,079
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3540047
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ireadhpinenochian/pseuds/ireadhpinenochian
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Dean and Cas go stargazing.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Brightest Star in the Sky

Cas had snuck out to meet Dean again. It was pretty much a nightly routine at this point. As soon as Sam fell asleep, Cas would receive a text and ten minutes later the two best friends would be lying on their backs in the small park behind Dean’s apartment building.

Usually, they didn’t speak, which worked out just fine for Cas since he wasn’t the greatest with words. The two of them would just lie on the grass and stare up at the stars. This close to the city there weren’t many, but there were enough.

It was Cas’ favorite part of the day. Shoulder to shoulder with his best friend (their closeness excused as platonic since they needed to share the body warmth in this chilly weather), staring up into the inky darkness dotted with a handful of stars, as if some preschooler had gotten stingy with the glitter. Cas wasn’t exactly an astronomy buff, but he did love staring up into that staggering depth and wishing he could exist in it.

“Hey, Cas?” Dean’s voice was small, hesitant, but Cas still jumped. It was the first sound of the night, after all, barring the rustling trees and squeaks of the lone swing moved by the breeze. After months of silent nights, Cas should have known that Dean was just building himself up for something. This was his serious voice. His this-might-be-stupid-but-I-need-to-ask-anyway voice. His my-dad-would-have-a-fit-if-he-found-out voice. This was the voice he only used with Cas.

“Yes, Dean?” Cas turned his head to stare at the side of his best friend’s face. Dean didn’t reciprocate, but Cas had the feeling that he wouldn’t be able to go on if he did.

“Do you…” He trailed off and began picking at the blades of grass beneath his fingers. Cas moved his hand the inch or so over so that their pinkies would brush together. It calmed Dean’s fidgeting and he took a deep breath and continued, “Do you think that stars are, like… people?”

Cas furrowed his brow. “People?” As far as Cas knew they were just the suns of different solar systems, so far away that half of them were probably already long gone before their light managed to grace the eyes of the Earth.

“Not like _people_ people, but like… like people.” Dean squeezed his eyes shut, aware that he wasn’t making much sense at all. He quickly shook his head and said, “Never mind. It’s stupid—just—never mind.”

Cas finally made the harrowing move to place his whole hand on top of Dean’s. He only needed to say one word, the one that meant everything to him, and the one that meant so much more when he said it. “Dean.”

Dean let out a sigh and tried again. “I know stars aren’t people, they’re like giant balls of gas, or whatever. But like, in a not-sciencey way… do you think that maybe that’s where…” Dean’s hand began fidgeting underneath Cas’, until he finally flipped it over so that their hands could rest palm to palm. “Do you think maybe that’s where heaven is? That maybe they’re people watching over us?”

Cas turned his face back up to the stars. “I didn’t know you were religious, Dean.”

“’M not,” he mumbled in reply. “Just… my mom always used to tell me that angels were watching over me, you know? And… and I don’t know if I believe that because if they were, then… then they would have been watching over her and she’d still be okay. But—but maybe she could still be…” He let his sentence trail off with a sigh.

“Watching over you,” Cas finished.

“Yeah.”

Cas hummed as he pondered Dean’s question.

“It’s stupid,” Dean said. “I know, but—“

“Dean,” Cas cut him off. “It’s not stupid. I’ve just never really thought about it before and it deserves a well thought out answer.”

There was another minute of agonizing silence before Cas spoke again.

“I don’t think that stars are people, per say.”

Dean let out a huge exhale and turned his head to face away from Cas, who merely squeezed Dean’s hand.

“Please, let me explain before you jump to the wrong conclusion,” Cas said. He waited patiently for Dean to give a sign that he was still listening and not beating himself up over his stupidity in the privacy of his own head. Finally, he squeezed Cas’ hand back and turned his now watery eyes up to the sky. “Thank you,” Cas said. “Now, I don’t think people are stars because I don’t like the idea of them being so far away. Dean, it takes lifetimes for a star’s light to reach the Earth. A star’s loved ones would already be long gone before they got the chance to see them again.”

“Oh.” His voice was still small, sad.

“Yes,” Cas continued. “Which is why I think that, though they’re not people, perhaps they could be a window that people can look through. Your loved ones are still there, but they are not the stars themselves.”

“Oh.” A soft smile turned up the corners of Dean’s lips. “I like that.” Dean fit his fingers between Cas’ and held his hand in a decidedly non-platonic fashion.

Cas blushed and scooted closer to Dean.

“Which star do you think my mom is looking out of?”

Cas took the hand that was holding Dean’s and lifted both to point. “That one. Sirius.”

“Why that one?” Dean asked, finally turning to look at Cas for the first time since they laid down on the grass.

“It’s the brightest,” Cas responded simply, letting their hands fall back down between them. “Mary Winchester would want her boys to see her bright and clear. I suspect she would also use our sun during the day. It is just another star, after all.”

Dean took a moment to stare at his best friend in awe before moving in quickly to kiss him. It lasted for no more than a few seconds, but they both wore shy grins and blushing cheeks when they broke apart and Dean tucked his head in the space above Cas’ shoulder.

“Thanks, Cas.”

“It was my pleasure, Dean.”

Cas continued to sneak out to meet Dean for their nightly stargazing, and for the most part they were back to their original no speaking policy. However, now it was enforced by the fact that they had found a much better use for their mouths than words.


End file.
